Related papers: The Blue supergiant problem and the main-sequence …
Since the discovery of SN (supernova) 1987A, the number of Type II-peculiar SNe has grown, revealing a rich diversity in photometric and spectroscopic properties. In this study, using a single 15Msun low-metallicity progenitor that dies as…
The brightness of the tip of the red-giant branch (TRGB) allows one to constrain novel energy losses that would lead to a larger core mass at helium ignition and thus to a brighter TRGB than expected by standard stellar models. The required…
Stellar evolution theory is most uncertain for massive stars. For reliable predictions of the evolution of massive stars and their final fate, solid constraints on the physical parameters, and their changes along the evolution and in…
The red supergiant (RSG) problem refers to the observed dearth of luminous RSGs identified as progenitors of Type II supernovae (SNe II) in pre-SN imaging. Understanding this phenomenon is essential for studying pre-SN mass loss and the…
We present the results of an investigation of post-Main Sequence mass loss from stars in clusters in the Magellanic Clouds, based around an imaging survey in the L'-band (3.8 micron) performed with the VLT at ESO. The data are complemented…
The quantitative study of the physical properties and chemical abundances of large samples of massive blue stars at different metallicities is a powerful tool to understand the nature and evolution of these objects. Their analysis beyond…
An overview is presented of the recent advances in understanding the B[e] phenomenon among blue supergiant stars in light of high-angular resolution observations and with an emphasis on the results obtained by means of long baseline optical…
The results of our second stage (1998-2018) of the detailed spectroscopy of peculiar supergiants identified with galactic infrared sources, performed mainly at the 6-meter BTA telescope are summarized. The main aspect of the program is a…
The red-giant branch bump provides valuable information for the investigation of the internal structure of low-mass stars. Because current models are unable to accurately predict the occurrence and efficiency of mixing processes beyond…
Long GRBs (LGRBs) have typical duration of ~ 30 s and some of them are associated with hypernovae, like Type Ic SN 1998bw. Wolf-Rayet stars are the most plausible LGRB progenitors, since the free-fall time of the envelope is consistent with…
Ten years later, astronomers are still puzzled by the stellar evolution that produced SN 1987A --- a blue supergiant. In single star models, the new OPAL opacities make blue solutions more difficult to achieve, though still possible for…
Convective overshoot mixing is a critical ingredient of stellar structure models, but is treated in most cases by ad hoc extensions of the mixing-length theory for convection. Advanced theories which are both more physical and numerically…
We present the results of a narrow-band infrared imaging survey of a narrow strip (12' wide) around the galactic equator between 6 deg and 21 deg of galactic longitude aimed at detecting field stars with strong CO absorption, mainly…
We consider the blue loops in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram that occur when intermediate-mass stars begin core helium burning. It has long been known that the excess of helium above the burning shell, the result of the contraction of the…
We revisit the distant future of the Sun and the solar system, based on stellar models computed with a thoroughly tested evolution code. For the solar giant stages, mass-loss by the cool (but not dust-driven) wind is considered in detail.…
The upper bond on the branching ratio for $b\to s\gamma$ decays implies a stringent lower bound on the mass of the pseudoscalar Higgs boson of the MSSM if sparticles are heavy. This leads to an upper bound on the expected event rate in…
We use synthetic photometry from Gaia DR3 BP and RP spectra for a large selected sample of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) to derive the magnitude of the Red Giant Branch (RGB) tip for these two…
Blue stragglers (BSS) are stars whose position in the Color-Magnitude Diagram (CMD) places them above the main sequence turn-off (TO) point of a star cluster. Using data from the core of 47 Tuc in the ultraviolet (UV), we have identified…
If a massive star has lost significant mass during its red-supergiant stage, it would return to blue region in the HR diagram and spend a part of the core-He burning stage as a blue supergiant having a luminosity to mass ratio (L/M)…
Despite their importance to a number of astrophysical fields, the lifecycles of very massive stars are still poorly defined. In order to address this shortcoming, we present a detailed quantitative study of the physical properties of four…